Slicing machine



June16,1942. WA, VAN BERKEL 286,772

SLICING MACHINE Filed May 24', 1940 Patented June 16, 1942 gferg tion ofIndiana Applieationltiay-Zli, 1940, Seriai No. 3373.67 En Great Eritain.lune 20, 1939 (Cl. Mii-'lem 2 Claims.

This' invention relates" to slicing macliiz'ie's'n generalgandparticularly to' slicing machines of the"p'ush-puil type wherein thecarriage is reciprocated manually past a rotary' circular slicingknife.

More specically' the invention relates toan inclined food' or substancetrough whereby substance 'is fed by the aid of 'gravity to' the inclinedknife of the' push-pull machine.

Theinyention is adapted to be applied to a slicing machine having aninclinedA knife ofthe typ'e'discl'o'sed in applicants Patent No.2,185,565, granted January 9, '1940.

An'iinportant object of the present invention resides'in' the provisionof an inclinedl substance trough' 0'1- carrier which is arrangedsubstantially at right angles' to an inclined driven knife, there beinga' new and improved substance pusher arranged in the trough'capa'ble' of.being guided for movement longitudinally of the carrier or trough, thevsame' being retractable in its operative setting beyond the end of thecarrierwhereby the pusher remains operative' over the entire length ofthe carrier' or trough.

Another important object of the invention is 'the provision of arelatively V-shaped or L- shaped substance trough or chute incliningdownwardly at 'right angles to an inclined slicing knife, a' pusherplate being' slidably mounted with respect to the trough or chutewhereby the substance is moved by the aid of gravity toward the slicingknife', the pusher being adapted to remain in its' operative positionthroughout the entire length of the trough but capable of beingretracted to an inoperative position beyond the extreme end of thetrough.

'Af still further object of the invention is the provision-oa trough ofthe type disclosed wherein` there is provided a substance pusher havinga bottom contour of substantially the .same shape as the trough,l there'being means to permit the pusher plate toV remain in operative positionwithin the confines of the trough but permitting the pusher to beretracted beyond the extreme limits ofl thetrough.

Still another object of the invention resides in the particularconstruction and arrangement of a pusher plate adapted for slidableposition within the trough for operative movement, the plate beingprovided with an operative connection with respect to the trough wherebythe plate may be swung about a pivot to an inoperative position at theextreme end of the trough.

Numerous other objects and advantages will be apparent throughout theprogress of the following specification.

The accompanying drawing illustrates a selected embodiment of theinvention and the views therein are as follows:

Fig. l is a detail sectional elevation of parts of a slicing machine andembodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view on the line 2-'2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the pusher locked ininoperative position; and

Fig. 4 is a detail fragmentary elevational view.

The carrier, which isl in the form of a V-shaped or L-shaped trough orchute 5, is arranged in an inclined position. The carrier or trough 5 isoperatively supported by a support S upon which it is adjustablysecured. The trough 5 is mounted on the support so as to incline anappreciable distance horizontally and at right angles to the rotaryslicing knife l. The slicing knife l is adapted to be driven by anelectric motor, .not shown, and carries on its outer surface a knifeguard 8 which leaves the cutting edge of the knife exposed. rhethickness of the slices to be cut is determined by a slice thicknessgauge plate 9 which is adapted to be journalled in a stationary part ofthe frame and is adapted for movement parallel to the slicing plane ofthe knife. The knife l is operatively journalled in a knife supportingbracket It which is rigidly secured to, the slicing vmachine frame.

The parts l-lil are conventional parts and arrangements. of a push-pullmachine and are well known to those sldlled in the art, and thereforeshown in dotted lines.

The support 6 which carries the trough 5 is slidably mounted on alongitudinal bar I I mounted in the machine frame and is adapted forforward and rearward reciprocation thereon. A second guide bar uponwhich the support 6 is also slidably mounted is not shown but isdisposed below the said bar Il whereby the support 6 is maintained inrigid operative position. The support 6 may be. provided with a handleI2 by which the carrier is adapted to be reciprocated manually to movethe substance in the trough across the gauge plate 9, the edge of theslicing knife 'I, and the knife guard plate 8.

A pusher plate for normally assisting in moving the substance to besliced down the trough 5 into engagement with the gauge plate 9 andknife 'I is provided and comprises a plate member I3 which is formed toiit snugly into the trough 5 with its lower edges just out of contactwith the inner surfaces of the trough 5. A handle I4 may be fastened tothe pusher so that it may be manipulated or operated longitudinally ofthe trough. A guide sleeve I5 is secured to the pusher I3 and isslidably and turnably'mounted on a guide rod I6 which extendslongitudinally along one side of the trough. A bearing pad II may beprovided on one bottom edge of the pusher to provide a bearing for theedge of the pusher plate adjacent the inner surface I8 of the trough.The guide rod I6 is secured at the end adjacent the knife to a bracketI9 which is provided on the trough 5. This rod I6 is secured at itsopposite end by a junction piece or cross plate 2B to a second parallelrod 2I. The rod 2i is secured to a bracket 22 on one side of the trough5. The rods I6 and 2| are parallel to each other and extend outwardly apredetermined distance from the extreme outer end of the substancesupporting trough 5. The pusher is adapted to remain in its operativeposition in the chute 5 throughout the entire length of the trough.However, the pusher is adapted to be retracted from its operativeposition and swung to an inoperative position beneath the trough, asclearly shown in Fig. 3.

When the pusher has been moved beyond the extreme end of the trough, itis adapted to be swung freely downwardly into inoperative position, asshown in Fig. 3, whereby it automatically moves into locking engagementwith the trough f 5 and the rod 2|, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Thepusher I3 may be` recessed at 23 so that it seats itself snugly againstthe rod 2l while located in the position underneath the trough. .In thislatter position an inclined edge of the pusher is adapted to be inengagement with an inclined bottom edge of the trough. The pusher I3 maybe constructed so that when it occupies its inoperative position it willbe flush with the supporting surface of the trough.

The pusher I3 is guided for retraction longitudinally of the trough to aposition beyond the extreme edge of the substance carrier and is adaptedto be displaced downwardly into an inoperative position after reachingthe extreme outer end of the trough. In this latter inoperative positionthe pusher will be below, or substantially flush with, the substancesupporting surface of the carriage. Means may be provided to maintainthe pusher I3 in its operative setting l until close to the limit of itsextreme longitudinal movement (to the right, Fig. l) where it may beswung downwardly into the inoperative position. Such means may comprisethe bearing pad I'l which may be made to engage not only the innersurface I8 of the trough 5, but also the top edge thereof. When adaptedfor engagement with the top edge the bearing pad I'I may be notched.

The invention provides a slicing machine having an inclined trougharranged substantially perpendicular to the inclined knife, with apusher plate arranged in the trough operable throughout the entirelength of the trough but adapted to be shifted to an inoperativeposition beneath the trough beyond the extreme outer end thereof.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of theparts without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacricingany of its advantages, and the right is hereby reserved to make all suchchanges as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A slicing machine .comprising a carriage slidable past a cuttingknife, a substance support mounted on said carriage, said substancesupport being substantially continuous throughout its supportingsurface, a pusher 4plate slidable in the substance support, a guide rodconnected to the substance support adjacent one side thereof andextending parallel with an edge of the support to a predetermineddistance beyond an outer end of the support, a second rod xed to thesupport adjacent said outer end thereof and extending below said guiderod substantially parallel therewith to a corresponding predetermineddistance beyond the outer edge of the support, means on the outwardlyextending end of said second rod for supporting the adjacent end of saidguide rod, a sleeve on the .pusher for slidably and pivotally mountingthe pusher on said guide rod, said sleeve and .pusher being movable onthe guide rod to a position beyond the said outer end of the support andIpivotable at said position to a downward inoperative position beneaththe supporting surface of the support, and said second rod providing astop for limiting downward movement of the pusher and maintaining thepusher in said inoperative position.

2. A slicing machine comprising a carriage slidable past a cuttingknife, a substance support mounted on said carriage, said substancesupport being substantially continuous throughout its supportingsurface, a pusher plate slidable in the substance support, a guide rodconnected to the substance support adjacent one side thereof andextending parallel with an edge of the support to a predetermineddistance beyond an outer end of the support, a second rod xed to thesupport adjacent said outer end thereof and extending below said guiderod substantially parallel therewith to a corresponding predetermineddistance beyond the outer edge of the support, means on the outwardlyextending end of said second rod for supporting the adjacent end of saidguide rod, a sleeve on the pusher for slidably and -pivotally mountingthe pusher on said guide rod, said sleeve and pusher being movable onthe guide rod to a position .beyond the said outer end of the supportand pivotable at said position to a downward inoperative positionbeneath the supporting surface of the support, said second rod providinga stop for limiting downward movement of the pusher and maintaining thepusher in said inoperative position, and said pusher being provided witha recess therein into which the said second rod is received when thepusher is in its downward inoperative position.

WILHELMUS ADRIANUS VAN BERKEL.

